Quiet

I'm now finishing a quiet first day of summer. I don't know if I liked the quiet. With Sherry abroad and the kids at camp, the house is very still. It feels more like an accident or anomaly than it does a summer day.

I made some use of the time alone. I took care of a few school tasks that really seemed like electronic paperwork: completing some mandatory online training, submitting the clearances for my criminal history that a bad law now obligates teachers to do. I cleaned. I ran some errands for the sake of doing errands. I ran. Twice.

I really don't do well with solitude, though I should learn to seek it a little bit more in my life. I spent just about one year of my life living alone: the 1998-99 school year. I couldn't wait for that spell of life to end.

I'm more alive when there are kids or my wife to spend my day with. Being alone all day today I felt like I was somehow cheating summer of what it should be.